Dirty Girls

by Rodzil LaBraun

  Cinnamon's skin was a medium to dark tan, representative of her name. With the streaky brown grime covering much of her exposed skin details were hard to make out. What I had thought was a skin disease causing paler dots now looked to have a pattern.

  "How far is the ship?" I asked as I maintained a distance that was comfortable for her. Each time that I got closer than ten feet she would keep looking over her shoulder causing her to reduce her pace. A couple times I even saw her pull her weapon upwards in preparation for trouble.

  If only she could see what was on my mind, she would know that I had no intention of hurting her. Seducing her? Caressing her fine body? Kissing her? Those things were what I was thinking about. Though it was probably best that she didn't see those either. I completely fucked things up when I mistook her silence for lack of comprehension. Her tolerance with my presence since then was generous on her part.

  "Two or three hours walk," Cinnamon replied quietly. I had been cautioned a couple times already on speaking too loudly. "Depending on any hazards that we may encounter."

  "What kind of hazards?"

  The young lady stopped so she could turn and face me before answering. "Dragons, Wofurs, landslides. We might have to spend some time hiding or sneaking slowly."

  I used the opportunity to pull a bottle of water out of my pack. When I raised it to my lips, I saw her eyes get really big. She carried no drinking containers of her own. I figured that she must be thirsty. She declined my offer, though, of sharing my bottle. She thought twice about it when I pulled out a second bottle, but still refused. I understood her caution but felt bad for her just the same. I decided not to push it on her. Perhaps later in our trip her thirst would outgrow her concern.

  "What is a Wofur?"

  "The animals that were upstream when you were stupid enough to cross the river." The tiniest of condescending smiles crept across her lips, barely squinting her foxy brown eyes. Her astonishing beauty grew considerably in that instant. I didn't get a lot of attractive women smiling at me lately.

  "Is that the scientific name for the animal? Wofur?" I asked, deciding to focus on that instead of her calling me stupid. My manners were improving, I thought. I just might come out of this experience a better person, if I survive at all.

  "No. They are furry and make a woah sound."

  I laughed out loud. It was the same method I had used for calling them Woah bears.

  Cinnamon glanced around quickly to see if my laughter had alerted a predator to our presence, then settled her gaze back on me. "What is so funny?"

  "Nothing," I replied. "Wofurs. I like it. So, tell me about the river. My legs got tingling after I went through it. Then I got sleepy. Is that what you were referring to when you called me stupid?"

  "Yes. That time it was because of the river."

  That time? How many times had she called me stupid and I wasn't paying attention because of ogling her body?

  "Why do the animals drink it if it paralyzes their body?" I asked.

  "It doesn't seem to affect the wildlife here as much as it does humans," she explained. Then looking antsy, "We need to get moving again."

  I put my bottle away and followed her up a gentle slope until it turned rocky. The terrain didn't appear too difficult to cross, but sizeable cover was scarce. She looked left then right trying to determine the best course.

  "So, we can't drink the river water," I said, simply wanting to break the silence once again. I had the uncontrollable urge to speak ever since we met. Spending most of the last couple months in solitude made me surprisingly needy.

  "No, you can drink it," she replied. "But you'll want to be ready for bed when you do. It also has some other interesting effects." She glanced ever so briefly at the crotch of my pants with that last remark.

  "Uhh, what kind of effects?"

  "Nothing important," she said impatiently. "We need to get going. We are doing too much talking."

  She chose the course to the left which had us going back downhill at a slight angle to remain safely hidden. That path sent us heading directly for another monumental flat-branched tree.

  "I'm sorry for all the questions, Cinnamon. I appreciate your patience with me. But not only am I not familiar with this place, I spent several weeks alone before coming here. Having someone as nice as you to talk to makes it hard for me to shut up."

  "Why were you alone?" she asked as she continued toward the huge tree that she previously said was often home to dragons.

  "I was in..." I almost said 'prison'. What an idiot. There was no reason for this girl to know that I was a convict. I was unjustly convicted anyway. Telling her that I was a prisoner would actually be misleading, I convinced myself. "I was in a special isolation area preparing for this program."

  "Is that what you earlier referred to as the get out of jail free program?"

  Fuck. I had forgotten that I had said that. "Oh yeah," I chuckled, trying to make my upcoming lie sound convincing. "That was a joke. I complained about that portion of the experiment, calling it a jail sentence."

  "You lie a lot," she then said. It was extremely disappointing to hear. Even though she said it more casually than accusingly, I knew that it would make getting close to her more challenging. My powers of deception had clearly diminished in this environment.

  "Why do you say that?" I asked, preparing to defend myself. Always deny and deflect when a girl suggested that you were being untruthful. I learned that from my father. It had served me well on many occasions. Women typically didn't want to know that you were involved in criminal activity, or even spent time with another woman. They were happier just wondering instead of confirming it. Almost all the times that my deflection failed, and I decided to be honest, it ended the relationship.

  "When we first met you claimed that you were from Earth. Does that line work on many women?"

  "I am from Earth," I said, totally confused once again. "Why would you think that I'm not? Aren't all humans from Earth?"

  "Originally," Cinnamon answered, turning to face me. We were nearly in the shade of the big tree. "But Earth has been uninhabitable for decades. Honest men say that they are from Luna or Mars, but never Earth."

  "Oh," I replied, trying to quickly think of what to say next. Deflect or cling to this claim? I was legitimately from Earth, so it seemed like sticking to that story should work best. Never tell more fibs than you can keep track of, my daddy also taught me. But her claim was ridiculous. Earth was polluted and disease riddled, but not completely contaminated yet. This seemed like a good time to turn the tables and accuse her of lying. However, I didn't want to increase the wedge between us.

  I was wrestling with that line of reasoning when I saw movement behind her. Large wings spread wide as a yellow lizard dropped from a tree branch to propel itself toward us. Not near as big as the green dragon that I had encountered before, but just as frightening since it was attacking us.

  I instantly dove for Cinnamon. A shocked expression came over her face as I lunged toward her. She was not yet aware of the smaller type dragon sweeping down toward her back. She raised her weapon toward me but luckily was too slow. I got both of my arms arm her and took her abruptly to the ground with me. We hit hard causing the blue light knife to fall from her hand as she grunted.

  "Get off me!" she demanded as she squirmed against the weight of my body pressing down on her. When the shadow swept over us, she stopped struggling as her expression changed dramatically. She saw the dragon as it missed us by too small of a margin for comfort. "Under the bush!" she then yelled. "They don't like the sticky leaves."

  I released her so she could crawl through the several feet of tall grass to reach the base of the nearest sticky bush. Once under its upside-down umbrella shape she positioned herself in a fetal position to keep all parts of her body from being exposed. That gave me two options. The first was to find my own hiding place. The second was to join her.

  My desire to protect this young woman more so than my bodily craving fo
r contact had me choosing option number two. I slid through the weeds right behind her, assuming the spooning position to also get my body under the same bush. If it was insufficient to protect me, at least I was shielding the girl. I would be a hero.

  I dropped my machete when I took us into the tumble but glanced around to spot it just a couple feet from my head, well within reach should I need it. When the shadow crossed over again, I tucked in tight against the hot bodied young woman.

  The smell of cinnamon was much stronger with my nose against the back of her neck. It was a very pleasant scent that reminded me of another world, Earth. And breakfast. I always associated that aroma with cinnamon rolls fresh out of the oven.

  My right arm was pinned under my head. I could probably use it to grab my machete if needed. My left arm was draped around her slim body. It took me a couple seconds to realize that the soft flesh under my fingers was her right breast. I slowly adjusted to slide it down to her belly instead, hoping that the grope came across as unintentional. The tension in her body did not diminish.

  "Are we safe?" I asked.

  She didn't answer. Then I felt her body began to shiver, not from the cold, but from fear. Was it from the dragon that attacked us? Or was it from me having her in a vulnerable position?

  "Are you okay?" I asked. Maybe she was hurt. Sometimes people trembled with intense pain.

  "What are you going to do?" she whispered sounding scared. The question had me thinking that she was more afraid of me than the flying lizard. If she was referring to protecting ourselves, what could I do that we weren't already doing?

  Before I could answer I felt the gush of air against my back. Along with it came a strong scent reminiscent of freshly cut grass on a hot summer day. We were in shadow once again, and it wasn't simply passing over this time. Hot air against my legs told me that the yellow dragon was grounded behind me. And too close to ignore.

  I reached for my machete, fortunate to grab the handle end instead of the blade and swung around to face my enemy. Shock was recognizable on the long gator face. It was just about to take a bite out of my leg when I spun toward it. The beast looked very similar to the larger version that I had spotted sleeping in the tree. This one was no taller than me, though. Banana yellow scales covered much of its body, gradually transitioning to a dull white on its underneath portion.

  Sharp black talons thrust toward my face. Instinctively I swung my blade and managed to sever the lizard's hand off at the wrist. It screeched loudly like a bird. One from Earth, not the clicking things on this planet. Then it angrily flew off, dark fluid oozing from its wound.

  The detached limb laid motionless on the ground just a few feet from me. Cinnamon's knife was just beyond it, no longer shimmering blue. The noisy injured dragon could be heard fading into the distance. Two others just like it had been circling for a moment, then followed their wounded friend back toward the river. I waited a minute before sliding out from under the bush.

  I didn't identify any trouble, so I climbed into a squat and reached for my traveling companion's weapon. I kicked the bird-like flying lizard claw away from us before turning to see Cinnamon hesitantly crawling out from her protective position, eyes constantly on me. She still looked incredibly scared. The fear, however, was directed at me. I was the reason that she was shivering under the bush. Not the dragon.

  I didn't like the way that made me feel. Normally, being in a position of power over others was a boost to my mood. Seeing this beautiful young thing, that was assisting me by the way, glare at me with terror in her eyes didn't feel the same.

  She glanced between the two weapons, one in each of my hands, and asked, "What are you going to do to me?"

  CHAPTER EIGHT:

  I had spent the last few months miserable, confined to a prison cell. Before that I was a gambler that always seemed to be down on his luck. I grew up impoverished. My family name was blemished in my small community. I never truly felt like I was worth much. Oh, I faked it plenty of times. But down deep, no.

  Now here I stood on an alien planet. The only other human, that I knew of, was a beautiful young woman asking what I was going to do with her. I had both weapons and a pack full of survival items. She had nothing except for her skimpy outfit. It might not seem like a big deal, but given the circumstances, it was a unique position of power.

  I looked down at her weapon in my hand. It was purely designed with function in mind. Most weapons were made with either a little flare or some streamline polish. This thing might as well have been held together with duct tape. A very basic black handle with a dozen nicks and scratches. A somewhat shiny serrated edge blade more like a saw than a bread knife. There was an embedded button where the thumb of a right hand would naturally go. Very little pressure was required to bring the blue electrical charge to life.

  I pressed it to spark the blade, then released. I was simply curious. I had no real intention of threatening my new friend. I tossed it a few inches in the air and caught it carefully by the blade. I did so not to impress, but simply because my other hand still held my machete. Then I extended the girl’s weapon back to her, handle first.

  "Don't be silly," I said to her. "We’re friends, right?"

  She accepted her weapon tentatively, nodding agreement. Relief then released the tension in her muscles, but her eyes were still weary.

  "I hope that this moment clarifies the situation for you," I told her. "I mean you no harm, just like I said from the beginning. I'm new here. You apparently are not. Help me get accustomed to this place and I will do my best to help and protect you. I just ask that you treat me with a little respect."

  She nodded again, noticeably much more comfortable than when she posed the question. Of course, regaining possession of her blade helped immensely.

  "Thank you, Kash," Cinnamon said in a sigh. "I'm sorry if I haven't been respectful. It is a dangerous world out here. Caution is usually the best approach."

  "I understand that completely," I told her. "But that it behind us now."

  "Yes, it is," she replied, more warmth finally visible in her expression.

  "Can I get a hug?"

  One eyebrow raised on Cinnamon's beautiful face. She was probably trying to figure out if I was serious. If I could get a willing embrace from this woman, then yes, I was completely serious. If she was not so inclined, then no, I was just joking.

  "I think it might be a little too early for that, Kash," she slowly answered, obviously doing her best not to offend me.

  "Rain check?" I asked.

  "What is a rain check?" she queried in return, looking puzzled.

  "I'm not real sure where the term came from," I explained. "But I think it means maybe later."

  "Yeah, okay," Cinnamon smiled. "Rain check. I'm not obligated by saying that am I? I don't want any misunderstanding."

  "No, Cinnamon," I returned her smile. "No obligation. I wasn’t completely serious anyway. But now that we are friends, would you like a drink of water from an unopened bottle?"

  "Oh stars!" her face lit up. "Yes, please!"

  I handed her a sealed water bottle from my pack and watched as she drank half of it in one tilt. She was thirsty alright. That single gesture, my offer and her acceptance, seemed to finish breaking down a barrier. I recognized it in her body language.

  "Thank you," she said, relaxing a bit as she looked around us for anything that might have changed in our environment during our dialogue. She was good at that. It was surprising that she was caught unaware by the dragon that attacked us. Then looking back to me, "Two things say a lot about you, Kash with a K. Giving up one of your water bottles in this dangerous world and placing your body between mine and the dragon. Yeah, I realize now that was what you were doing. I do appreciate it. Really. But I just want to make sure that we are clear. None of this makes me your woman."

  "Yeah, I get that," I answered. It was not great to have it shoved in my face like that, but I knew that I would have to do much more to win her love. And though
survival here was my primary concern, winning over Cinnamon was a close second. An adult male shouldn't be swayed so much by sexual attractiveness, but I was. She would be the hottest woman that I'd ever been with, no offense to the nine others that came before her. "There is always tomorrow," I said not sure what the effect of that statement would be.

  Fortunately, she smiled before repeating back to me, "There is always tomorrow."

  I followed Cinnamon happily for another hour as she led me up and down hills, often dodging from bush to bush. She was concerned that some of the dirt smeared on her skin had wiped off during our tumble and scrape across the ground. Her scent was noticeably stronger than before. She was worried that it would attract more dragons.

  "I still don't understand the dirty skin versus perfume situation," I told her.